Saturday, January 2, 2016

Need to spot a liar?

This has been a conundrum since humans were able to communicate. Much recent press was given to looking for tell-tale signs in body language but some new results show that the conversation itself maybe a more fruitful way to get to the bottom of it.

In this article on the BBC Future website you will find that these steps can improve the likelihood of spotting a liar:

use open questions

employ the element of surprise:- ask an unanticipated question that might be slightly confusing; ask the person to report an event that might be backwards in time;

watch for small verifiable details;

observe changes in confidence;

use the art of persuasion, for example, start by asking 'how honest are you?'

And if you notice that something does not add up do not draw attention to it and let their confidence build. It is never pleasant to find out that someone has been lying to you, I'll be using these techniques in 2016 to try and reduce the risk of that happening.